1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
After the death of Sarah, Abraham remarried. Remember, he is 140 years old at this point. I am guessing people not only lived longer but aged slower. So at this point he has lived 78% of his life or the equivalent of around age 65.
2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Abraham fathered six more sons. No daughters are mentioned. It is possible they had only boys.
3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Seven grandkids and three great grandkids are mentioned here. These are probably the ones born during Abraham’s lifetime.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Since “concubines” is mentioned in the plural, we can assume Ishmael and Hagar lived close enough for Abraham to still have occasional contact. He made sure they were all remembered, but gave the bulk of his wealth to Isaac.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an 175 years.
He died about 2183 (1863BC).
8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
Now we learn the rest of the history of Ishmael before proceeding with the story of the messianic line:
12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
Twelve sons in all, just as promised.
16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an 137 years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
18 And they lived from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou go toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
Thus ends the story of Ishmael. We do hear the occasional mention of his descendants, but there is no more recorded about his life. The Bible focuses on the ancestry of Christ.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:
“And this is the story of Isaac…” likely written by Isaac, though the last few verses were probably also written by him.
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Barrenness is not always a curse.
Sometimes God withholds children to allow a miracle to be performed to bring Him greater glory.
Sometimes He has work for the couple to do that requires them to not be distracted by children.
Sometimes He wants them to adopt.
And sometimes barrenness is just the result of living in a fallen world. In this case, it appears God wanted to perform a miracle in their lives just like in Sarah’s.
God certainly has a sense of humor. He chose to raise a nation of people as many as "the stars in the sky" from a line of infertile women.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it be so, why am I thus?” And she went to inquire of the LORD.
“What in the world is going on here!?” Twins can usually be diagnosed by a midwife feeling of the belly. Something about feeling two heads and way too many legs and arms squirming around. She can also often lay her ear against the mom and hear the heartbeats. Rebekah probably already knew she had twins and was wondering why they were carrying on so.
23 And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
If she didn’t know before, she did now! And God said they would be very different kinds of men.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Esau means hairy.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was 60 years old when she bare them.
Jacob means supplanter (victor or replacer). It is unusual for a baby to grab his twin during the birth process like this. Twins are usually 5-20 minutes apart, encased in separate amniotic sacks, and hands are usually down around the chest.
Isaac and Rebekah had lived without children for twenty years.
They were born 2168AH (1878BC). Abraham died in 2183 (1863BC), When the twins were about 15.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Each parent had their favorite. This is not a good thing.
Isaac was fond of the meat Esau made him while Rebekah probably loved the company and gentleness of Jacob.
29 And Jacob (cooked beans): and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Esau had been hunting and was very weak because he hadn’t caught anything. Jacob was fixing supper.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with those same red (beans); for I am faint:” therefore was his name called Edom.
Red beans and rice is still a popular dish.
Edom means “Red.”
31 And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”
Sounds like Jacob resented being the younger son and not having the bigger inheritance. He saw the opportunity to get what he wanted from his brother.
32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
Esau is probably exaggerating a bit. He was probably not at the point of death, just very uncomfortable.
33 And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.”
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and (soup) of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
He sold his entire future for a bowl of beans.
After the death of Sarah, Abraham remarried. Remember, he is 140 years old at this point. I am guessing people not only lived longer but aged slower. So at this point he has lived 78% of his life or the equivalent of around age 65.
2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Abraham fathered six more sons. No daughters are mentioned. It is possible they had only boys.
3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Seven grandkids and three great grandkids are mentioned here. These are probably the ones born during Abraham’s lifetime.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Since “concubines” is mentioned in the plural, we can assume Ishmael and Hagar lived close enough for Abraham to still have occasional contact. He made sure they were all remembered, but gave the bulk of his wealth to Isaac.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an 175 years.
He died about 2183 (1863BC).
8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
Now we learn the rest of the history of Ishmael before proceeding with the story of the messianic line:
12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
Twelve sons in all, just as promised.
16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an 137 years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
18 And they lived from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou go toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
Thus ends the story of Ishmael. We do hear the occasional mention of his descendants, but there is no more recorded about his life. The Bible focuses on the ancestry of Christ.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:
“And this is the story of Isaac…” likely written by Isaac, though the last few verses were probably also written by him.
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Barrenness is not always a curse.
Sometimes God withholds children to allow a miracle to be performed to bring Him greater glory.
Sometimes He has work for the couple to do that requires them to not be distracted by children.
Sometimes He wants them to adopt.
And sometimes barrenness is just the result of living in a fallen world. In this case, it appears God wanted to perform a miracle in their lives just like in Sarah’s.
God certainly has a sense of humor. He chose to raise a nation of people as many as "the stars in the sky" from a line of infertile women.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it be so, why am I thus?” And she went to inquire of the LORD.
“What in the world is going on here!?” Twins can usually be diagnosed by a midwife feeling of the belly. Something about feeling two heads and way too many legs and arms squirming around. She can also often lay her ear against the mom and hear the heartbeats. Rebekah probably already knew she had twins and was wondering why they were carrying on so.
23 And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
If she didn’t know before, she did now! And God said they would be very different kinds of men.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Esau means hairy.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was 60 years old when she bare them.
Jacob means supplanter (victor or replacer). It is unusual for a baby to grab his twin during the birth process like this. Twins are usually 5-20 minutes apart, encased in separate amniotic sacks, and hands are usually down around the chest.
Isaac and Rebekah had lived without children for twenty years.
They were born 2168AH (1878BC). Abraham died in 2183 (1863BC), When the twins were about 15.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Each parent had their favorite. This is not a good thing.
Isaac was fond of the meat Esau made him while Rebekah probably loved the company and gentleness of Jacob.
29 And Jacob (cooked beans): and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Esau had been hunting and was very weak because he hadn’t caught anything. Jacob was fixing supper.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with those same red (beans); for I am faint:” therefore was his name called Edom.
Red beans and rice is still a popular dish.
Edom means “Red.”
31 And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”
Sounds like Jacob resented being the younger son and not having the bigger inheritance. He saw the opportunity to get what he wanted from his brother.
32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
Esau is probably exaggerating a bit. He was probably not at the point of death, just very uncomfortable.
33 And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.”
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and (soup) of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
He sold his entire future for a bowl of beans.